In the Arms of an Angel
by Moonchampion
Summary: A new student arrives in Bayville, and he has his eye on Jean. Is Scott Summers jealous? What are Mystique's plans for this new mutant?
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, or any of its original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

****

In the Arms of an Angel

(Part I )

By

Moonchampion

"Ooh! I don't get it!" exclaimed Kitty. Kitty pounded her fist on the table in frustration. The librarian produced a loud "Shhh!" in response to the bang. Kitty hung her head embarrassed. Then, she felt Jean's hand rest on her shoulder. "I still don't understand," she whispered.

"It's okay," said Jean soothingly. "Trust me you'll get it."

"How?" asked Kitty. "Do you think you can help me?" announced Kitty with a glint of hope in her eyes.

"I can try," responded Jean. "What are you working on?" Jean picked up Kitty's text and read the cover, _Advanced Quantum Physics_. "Uh, on second thought Kitty, maybe we can find you a tutor."

Kitty sighed and began to gather her things. Jean started to pack her books away too. It was almost 7:00pm, and the two girls were almost late for dinner back at the mansion. Once the girls were packed, they began to walk towards the staircase. Kitty was still trying to explain the basic principles of Quantum Physics to Jean, but Jean found the subject hopeless to understand.

Jean turned the corner to head down the stairs, and bumped directly into rather handsome blonde teenage boy. Jean studied the boy briefly. He was wearing khakis, a pair of loafers and a sweater vest, with the emblem of Bayville Academy crested on the left side of his chest.

"I'm sorry," apologized the boy. "I didn't see you. Are you okay?"

Jean was lost in the glare of his deep blue eyes. She finally realized that the boy was trying to help her up. "Oh, yeah," said Jean, "I'm fine." He pulled her to her feet, and proceeded to reach for the floor to pick up his books. As he did so, Jean glanced at Kitty. She noticed Kitty mouth the word "number." Jean shook her head.

"What is it?" the boy asked, now offering Jean her books back.

"Uh, nothing, really," said Jean as she grabbed her books. "I'm sorry. I have to go. Bye." Jean quickly dashed around the blonde haired boy and down the stairs. Kitty was left sighing in defeat as Jean made her escape. Kitty shrugged at the boy as she started after Jean. Then, she felt the boy grab her arm.

"Excuse me, but is your friend okay?" asked the boy.

"After what happened, I'm not so sure anymore," replied Kitty.

The boy chuckled slightly. "Do you two go to Bayville High?"

"Depends. Why are you asking?" said Kitty.

"Well, I'm supposed to be transferring there for a while. I'm sure you know how it is when you get to a new school. I just thought it would be a good idea to no someone before hand," explained the boy. "What's your name?"

"My name's Kitty Pryde. You can call me, Kitty. My friend, who has officially abandoned me, is Jean Grey. You can call her, Chicken," said Kitty. The boy laughed lightly. "What's your name?"

"Uh, just call me Warren," he said. "I suppose I'll see you at school tomorrow. Bye, Kitty." Warren then walked off as Kitty descended the stairs and exited the library. She found Jean waiting outside pacing back and forth in front of the entrance.

"Why did you run off?" asked Kitty. "He was _so_ cute!"

As the girls began to walk off, they heard the honk of a horn. They turned to Scott Summers pulling up to the curb in his red convertible. "You girls ready?" he asked.

Jean turned to face Kitty with a smile on her face. "Oh, that's why," responded Kitty. Jean hopped into the front seat next to Scott, and Kitty got into the back. As the convertible drove away, Warren stared out the window of the library. His face was twisted with a hint of annoyance. As Warren disappeared from the window, the frown did as well. It was replaced with a smile, and his thoughts were only of Jean Grey.

Scott and Jean strolled into Mrs. Baxter's English class and took their seats next to each other. The bell rang and the class fell silent as Mrs. Baxter entered the room. She had a stack of papers in her hand, their midterm essays. She placed them on her desk, and was about to begin class. The knock at the door interrupted her before should had the chance to speak. She went to the door and opened it to find Principal Darkholme, along with another student, Warren.

"Good morning, Mrs. Baxter. This is Warren Worthington, III. He will be joining us for a few weeks," announced Principal Darkholme. "Since you're Teacher of the Year, I felt it was best to start him with your class. Warren, the classes that you want coincides mostly with the schedule of Ms. Grey. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to show you around."

Principal Darkholme cast her eyes at Jean. The glare was very cold. Darkholme was actually their enemy Mystique. Nevertheless, Warren had requested that his schedule match Jean's. Mystique didn't know why, but she definitely wanted to find out.

Warren entered the room and approached Jean's desk. He stared down into her eyes, but after a few seconds found something blocking his view. Scott Summers had stood up, and extended his hand. "Hello, my name's Scott. Nice to meet you," he said.

Warren pushed him out of the way and took his seat. "Thanks for the seat, pal," said Warren.

Scott was about to confront him, but Mrs. Baxter interrupted. "Oh, how nice of you, Scott, to offer your seat to Warren. You can take a seat next to Marie." Scott clinched his fist and stared down at Worthington who was smiling. Scott glanced at Jean how shrugged apologetically. Scott grabbed his bag and took his seat next to Marie, who was also his friend Rogue.

"You okay?" asked Rogue as Scott took his seat.

"Who does he think he is?" said Scott. Rogue sighed, as Scott began to open his book and follow the lesson, obviously still annoyed. Then, she too did the same. However, as class continued, Scott could only manage to concentrate on Warren. Scott watched him like a hawk for the rest of class. There was no way Worthington would get away with this.

As the last bell of the day rang, the students exploded out of their seats and through the doors. Scott and Rogue walked down the hall towards their lockers. Just as Scott approached his locker, he noticed Jean was there. However, Warren was there as well. The two teens were laughing and enjoying themselves. Scott dropped his bag and rushed at Warren. Rogue tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Scott pushed Warren away from Jean. The young blonde teen's back was slammed against the lockers. Warren winced in pain, and slid to the floor grasping his shoulder. Once Warren saw his attacker, he exploded back to his feet and lunged for Scott. The two boys continued to scuffle, and were only stopped by the voice of Principal Darkholme.

"Summers! What's the meaning of this?!" said Darkholme as the two pulled themselves apart from each other. Principal Darkholme examined the faces of both the boys. There seemed to be nothing more than pure hatred between them. "Never mind. I don't care what started this. Mr. Summers, detention."

"Wait!" exclaimed Rogue. "That's not fair!"

"You too!" responded Principal Darkholme. "I expect you both to report there in five minutes." Darkholme left the scene with an evil smile on her face.

Scott slammed his fist into the locker. "What did you think you were doing?" asked Jean.

Scott turned to face Jean, obviously still upset. "Worthington was out of line!" he responded.

"Really?" said Jean. "Well, how do you explain your actions?"

"Worthington's been a jerk since I met him. You saw how he behaved this morning. I may have let him take my seat, but I'm not letting him take my girl!" said Scott.

"_Your_ girl?" said Jean.

"That's right. I don't want Worthington anywhere near you from now on," replied Scott.

"You don't own me, Scott. I'm free to talk to anyone I choose," Jean said.

"Jean, I'm asking you to do this one thing. Stay away from Warren, please," said Scott.

"No, I will not allow you to choose my friends. Besides, that will be impossible anyway," stated Jean.

"I know he's in most of your classes, but…." Started Scott.

"No, you don't understand, Scott. Warren's not just in my classes, he's moving into the mansion."

"What? He's a mutant?" whispered Scott.

"Yes, and he has enrolled at the Xavier Institute as well," replied Jean. "So, I would suggest that you two start getting along, because he's one of us now. I'll see you when you get home."

Jean turned and walked away towards the exit. Scott then, focused his attention on Warren. The smile on Warren's face couldn't be any wider. Warren stepped a little closer to Scott and stared into his eyes for a moment. "You should know that I always get what I want Summers," whispered Warren. Warren turned to look at Jean, who had stopped and was waiting for him to catch up. "Always."

Warren left Scott Summers to catch up with Jean. The two then disappeared out of the door. Scott stood there paralyzed by the revelation that he may have just pushed the girl that he loved into the arms of another man. His concentration was only broken when he felt Rogue tug on his arm.

"Come on," said Rogue. "We still have detention. Besides y'all need time to cool off." Rogue began to usher Scott to the detention hall, however, the only thing Scott could think about was Warren's last words: _You should know that I always get what I want, Summers. Always._

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. Shattered Hearts

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, or any of its original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

****

Shattered Hearts

(In the Arms of an Angel Part II)

By

Moonchampion

Scott Summers charged through the front door of the mansion and stormed up the stairs. Although his eyes were hidden behind his red ruby quartz glasses, anyone could tell that he was angry. Scott emerged on the second landing to find his classmates Evan Daniel, Kurt Wagner and Kitty Pryde heading down the steps.

"Hey Scott, we were going to catch a movie, We were wondering if…," began Evan, but Scott marched right past him without saying a word. Evan looked at Kurt and Kitty and found they were just as confused as he was. Evan started to continue down the stairs, but saw Rogue racing up the stairs after Scott. "Hey, Rogue, what's his problem?"

"Scott just needs some time alone," replied Rogue. She continued up the stairs after Scott as Evan and the others began to file down the stairs and out of the front door. Rogue approached Scott's door, which was closed. 

She gave the knob a slight turn and pushed it open. When she looked inside, she found that the room was empty. She heard the door behind her slam. Rogue turned around to find Scott exiting Jean's room with a scowl of frustration on his face. He pounded his fist on the wall, and headed back down stairs. Rogue sighed and followed him.

"Ah Scott, you're home," said a voice. It was the Professor. Ororo Munroe, was standing behind the professor's wheel chair as they emerged from his office. "I believe we need to talk."

"How could you do this, Professor?" asked Scott. "Why didn't you tell us about Worthington's admission into the institute?"

"There wasn't anything to tell until late this afternoon, Scott," responded Professor Xavier. "Warren's parents did not finalize his admission until this afternoon. His things arrived less than an hour ago."  


"You're still not answering my question," said Scott. "You had to have know that Warren was a mutant for some time now. You've been scouting him. Why haven't you told us before today?"

"Warren's parents carry an extremely high profile, Scott. I felt that I didn't need to alert you that he was a mutant until it was certain he would join us. Since Warren's parents were headed for Europe on an extended leave, Warren decided it would be best to go ahead and join the Institute now," said the professor.

Scott clinched his fist tightly. "I thought we agreed that you would start to trust us a little more," stated Scott.

"I'm sorry Scott, but his parents asked me to keep Warren's mutant status between myself and Ororo. They only wanted a minimum number of people to know. I had to agree, as an act of good faith," he responded.

"Fine. Whatever. Where's Jean?" asked Scott.

"She is in the Danger Room with Logan," said Storm, "and Warren."

Scott sighed and stormed off into the direction of the Danger Room. Rogue was about to follow him, but the professor motioned for her to stop. "Rogue, I understand you and Scott are good friends. Please, help him see that Warren is not his enemy."

Rogue sighed and started off behind Scott. "Just ask me to declare World Peace, why don'cha?" mumbled Rogue to herself.

"I may ask you to do that one day, Rogue, but not today. For now, just focus on Scott and Warren," called the Professor. Rogue sighed, just remembering that Professor Xavier was a telepath. She continued on her way to the Danger Room, prepared to attempt the impossible.

"All right, kid," said Logan from the Danger Room's control booth, "let's see what you got." Logan's fingers moved across the control panel and brought the Danger Room to life. Canons emerged from the walls, and blades began to swing on pendulums from the ceiling.

Inside the Danger Room, Warren Worthington had just stepped through the threshold. He was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit with a white streak running down the center of the suit. Embroidered on the chest of the jumpsuit was a slanted golden halo. At the sides of his shoulders, and on the buckle of his belt were the X-Men insignia. Warren was also wearing a pair of white boots. The most amazing sight, however, had nothing to do with his new uniform. It was his wings.

Sprouting out of Warren's back were a pair of large, beautiful ivory wings. They appeared identical to the wings of an angel. Warren stroked his short, curly blonde hair, and looked behind him to find Jean Grey entering the Danger Room as well. The two teens exchanged a smile and nodded at each other.

"We're ready, Logan," called Jean.

"Hold on. We'll make this a scrimmage exercise, since you two have company," he replied over the intercom.

Jean and Warren turned to see Cyclops and Rogue entering the Danger Room fully suited. Scott and Warren approached each other, and glared deeply into each other's eyes. Rogue folded her arms and hung her head, as Jean sighed with disapproval.

"Well, Summers," taunted Warren, "I have to give you credit. You just don't know when to give up do you."

"I never 'give up,' Worthington," said Scott. "Besides, you're playing in my world now, by my rules."

"The name's Angel, Four-eyes," responded Warren. 

"Gee, you come up with that by yourself, or did you buy the name from the WB?" said Scott.

"You can obviously talk the talk, Summers. Let's see if you can walk the walk, huh?" replied Warren.

Warren stepped away from Scott towards Jean. Scott felt Rogue approach from behind. "All right, Jeannie and Warren you're team one. Scott and Rogue you're team two," called Logan. "The name of the game is tag. Both team members must be tagged before the exercise is over. Get ready ta dance guys and gals, starting… now!"

Cyclops' visor began to glow with red energy as he looked in Angel's direction. Warren's wings spread very wide and flapped down causing a gust to toss his body into the air. The Angel soared around the Danger Room at such an amazing speed, that he almost appeared to be a blur. Cyclops fired several optic blasts trying to tag his rival. Obviously tired of being on the defense, Warren began to dive directly towards Cyclops. Scott dove out of the line of attack and landed chest down on the floor.

Meanwhile, Jean chased after Rogue, by using her telekinesis to manipulate the canons to fire in Rogue's direction. Rogue continued to dodge the blasts, but had no chance to counter with any type of offense. Suddenly, Rogue felt something slam hard into her back. As Rogue lost her footing, she stumbled to the floor. Rogue looked up in time to see the blur of Angel passing over her. He had taken advantage of Jean's distraction tagged Rogue from behind.

Warren began to swoop upwards, but felt a strong impact in his abdomen. The pain made him lose his balance as he tumbled to the floor. Warren looked up to find the yellow boot of Cyclops right next to his face. Warren looked up to find Scott staring down at him.

"Tag, you're it," said Cyclops.

"Scott! What's wrong with you?! You could have hurt him," cried Jean as she rushed past Scott to help Warren up. "It was just an exercise Scott, you didn't have to use that much force." Jean helped Warren to his feet, as he cradled his ribs. "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary."

"Come on, Jean. Didn't you see how hard he pushed Rogue? She could have been hurt too," protested Scott.

"Oh grow up, Scott!" responded Jean as she helped Warren to the door of the Danger Room. "I thought you were a little more mature than that, Scott Summers. I guess I was wrong."

As the two teens disappeared out the door, the simulation died down. The last thing Scott saw before the door shut, was Warren glancing back again with a sinister smile on his face. Scott grunted with frustration as the door shut behind them. "Man! I can't believe that guy! Why can't she see him for what he really is?!"

"Listen, kid," said Logan from the door, "whatever problems you and bird-boy have, ya better work 'em out soon. We can't afford those type of distractions in the field, got it?" With that Logan turned to head out the door, but paused. "By the way… nice shot." Then, Logan disappeared through the doors leaving Scott and Rogue alone in the Danger Room.

"Listen, Scott," began Rogue.

"What am I doing wrong, Rogue?" interrupted Scott. "Jean and I have always seen eye to eye. At least we did before Worthington showed up." Scott faced Rogue, and she could see the pain on his face.

"Come on," said Rogue, "Ah think Ah know what ya need. Do ya trust me?"

Scott looked at the young girl before him. She filled with enthusiasm. She brushed the bleached portion of her hair away from her eye and seized Scott's hand, and proceeded to drag him out of the Danger Room. "Wait a minute. Rogue, where are you taking me?" he asked.

"Are ya going to trust me, or not?" she asked.

"Okay, fine. Lead the way," replied Scott.

The two teens then disappeared through the doors of the Danger Room, with Rogue still leading Scott by the hand. After the two had changed into civilian clothes, Rogue led Scott out of the mansion, and to his red convertible. Rogue proceeded to jump into the front passenger seat, and wait with a smile on his face.

"Rogue, what—," began Scott, but Rogue wagged her finger indicating that he was still supposed to trust her. "All right, where to?" he asked as he sat down behind the wheel and started the engine.

"You just drive, and Ah'll tell ya, when we get there," she responded.

Scott nodded, and put the car into drive. He then pressed his foot against the gas pedal and his red convertible disappeared outside the front gate. 

"No Kitty! It's over! We're going to see the new Jackie Chan movie!" cried Evan.

"But I don't want to see Jackie Chan! I want to see the…" began Kitty.

"Leonardo DiCaprio. We know," chimed Evan and Kurt in unison.

The three teens continued to argue about which movie they were going to see, as they strolled along the sidewalk. Suddenly, they heard a loud scream, which brought their debate to a halt. The teens looked at each other, and then they each broke into a run in the scream's direction.

They turned into an alley to find an old woman lying on the ground. The rushed towards her and began to help her to her feet. The old woman was trembling, and her face appeared to be covered with tears.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" asked Evan.

"Ja, do you need an ambulance?" Kurt asked.

The old woman shook her head. "Can you tell us what happened?" asked Kitty.

The old woman nodded, and proceeded with her story. "I was on my way to my pick-up my niece, but some young hoodlums grabbed me and drug into this alley. Then, they tried to take my purse."

Kitty looked down at the old woman and noticed that she still had her purse clutched in her hand. "How did you get away from them?" Kitty asked.

"Like this, Sweetie," said the old woman and she placed her cupped hand onto Kitty's neck. Kitty gasped and withdrew from the woman clenching her neck. Kitty took her hand away from her neck to study her hand, and check to see if there was any blood oozing from her neck. She managed to pull a small needle attached to a metal bead from her neck. Kitty, then fell to the ground unconscious.

"Kitty?!" Kurt yelled. "Vas have you done to her?" Kurt started towards the old woman, but felt a sudden sting on his neck. He reached towards his neck to pull out a similar beaded needle before falling to the ground.

"Ha-ha! He never saw it coming," said a voice from the shadows. Quicksilver stepped into the light, with a huge smile on his face. "How ya doing, Ev?"

"Wait a minute," started Evan, "if you're here, then you must be…." Suddenly, the old woman began to transform before Evan's eyes. Her flabby skin began to tighten, and also began to change blue. Her silver white hair was replaced with bright red locks. Even her clothes changed, from a wide flower dress, to a slender, sleek white gown. "Mystique!"

"Bravo, Evan," applauded Mystique mockingly. "Now, are you going to come with us the easy way, or the hard way?"

"Lady, I'm not going anywhere with you," replied Evan. Then, bone-spikes started to emerge from Evan's arm. Evan waved his arms towards Mystique and Quicksilver. The bone-spikes began to fly from his arm in their direction. Both Quicksilver and Mystique ducked to dodge the onslaught of spikes. 

"Perfect!" said Evan. Then, he tossed several long spikes in the direction of his enemies creating a small cage to hold them for a while. Evan started to shake Kitty and Kurt to wake them, but it was useless. Suddenly, Evan felt a heavy blow land on the top of his head, but that was the last thing he felt as he fell into darkness.

"Excellent Fred," said Mystique as huge behemoth began to pick up the bodies of the unconscious X-Men. Suddenly the bones began to crumble to the ground as Avalanche used his mutant powers to shake the bones to ashes.

Mystique stepped over the crumbled ashes of bone and a smile spread over her face. "Now, that we have three of Xavier's own, I'm certain he will be willing to do anything we ask to get them back."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" said the Toad, as he leaped into view from behind the Blob.

"Xavier has always been a step ahead in locating mutant talent," said Mystique. "I think it's time for a change. If Xavier wants these brats back alive, it will cost him dearly. He will give me his very own mutant tracking system. He will give me… Cerebro!

TO BE CONCLUDED…


	3. Redemption

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, or any of its original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

****

Redemption

(In the Arms of an Angel Part III)

By

Moonchampion

The red convertible came to a stop just in front of a guardrail. Scott Summers and his companion, Rogue, stepped out of the car and walked towards the railing. One the other side of the railing was a steep hill, which disappeared into the darkness below. Directly across the horizon were the streams of light that made up New York City. Behind them was a wall of trees, with a narrow dirt road running through the middle.

As Scott gazed out at the horizon of lights, he grew restless and sighed. "Rogue, what are we doing here?" he asked. He turned to face Rogue; however, she had lain down on the hood of his car gazing at the stars above. "Rogue?"

The young southern girl paid no attention to Scott, but continued to stare at the stars. For a few moments, they both remained silent as they looked upon the constellations. "Scott, what are ya thinking about right now?" asked Rogue finally breaking the silence.

The question totally caught Scott by surprise. Scott's mouth opened, but no words were able to emerge from his lips. Rogue had turned her attention towards Scott, who sighed and slightly shook his head.

"Yow were thinking of Jean, weren't ya?" asked Rogue with a hint of disappointment in her voice. Scott turned away at the accusation. "That's the only thing you've been thinking about since we left. Even though you're here with me, in the middle of nowhere, all ya can think about is Jean."

"Rogue, I'm sorry," began Scott.

"Doesn't that tell you something," interrupted Rogue. "You obviously care about Jean a lot. Maybe ya even… love her." Rogue slid off the hood of the car and began to rest on the guardrail as she stared into the heavens. "So what's the problem?"

"The problem is Worthington!" Scott exclaimed. "He's deceiving Jean, and she can't even see it."

"I thought Jean was a telepath," said Rogue. "She knows exactly what Warren is thinking. As a matter of fact, she knows what you're thinkin' and how you feel."

"Well, if she knows, then why doesn't she do something about it?" replied Scott.

"Perhaps she could, if you would give her the chance to," said Rogue. "Since Warren came into the picture, you've treated Jean like a piece of property, a claim that you and Warren can fight over." Rogue stood up and looked into Scott's eyes. "She's a person Scott. A person who cares for you as strongly as you care for her. Just trust here."

Rogue began to turn away and head back to the car. Then, she felt Scott's hand grab her shoulder. She turned around to see Scott looking directly into her eyes. "Thanks, Rogue," he said softly. "It's good to know I have friends like you that I can count on." Scott started to smile before he removed his hand from her shoulder and circled the car.

"Yeah," whispered Rogue to herself, "good to have a friend like me."

Warren lowered his arms as Jean finished wrapping his ribs with the bandages. Jean looked up briefly into the eyes of her patient to find a smile on his face. Jean returned the gesture as she placed the bandage roll on the rolling cart. When Jean turned around, she found herself within inches of Warren's face. Jean cleared her throat and then stepped across the room to finish packing away the materials she had used.

Suddenly, Jean felt a pair of hands seize her arms. Jean turned around to find the owner of the hands to be none other than Warren Worthington. Warren stared into her eyes still smiling as he brought his lips closer to hers. 

Jean placed her hand on Warren's chest to stop his advancement. "Warren, no," said Jean. "This isn't right."

"What's wrong, Jean? Don't you like me?" asked Warren.

"As a friend… yes, but not like this, Warren," replied Jean.

"A friend?" Warren said slightly surprised. "I can't believe you're actually taking your little fling with Summers this seriously."

"Well, I can't believe that Scott was right about you. You are a jerk, Warren," said Jean. "I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, but now I see I was wrong. You really believe that all your family's money and influence make you better than everyone else. Well now it's time for a reality check, mister.

"Your money can't buy friends, it can't buy love and it can't buy me," continued Jean. "People should like you for who you are, Warren. What you can do for them, or what you can buy them doesn't matter. Scott knows that, and that's why I love him. That's why I can't betray my feelings for him, even if you could give me the whole world."

"Hey, not even you are worth that, toots," snapped Warren.

Jean swung her hand and slapped Warren across the face. Warren's head followed the impact of the slap. When he faced Jean again, he saw her eyes filled with tears. "I can see why you'll always be alone Warren. You make it impossible for anyone to care about you." Jean turned away and started to head towards the door. As the she reached the entrance, the door slid open to reveal Ororo Munroe.

Ororo immediately focused her attention on Jean's face, covered by tears. "Are you all right, my child," she asked. Ororo placed her arm on Jean's shoulder to offer whatever support she could. The young teenage girl nodded, and Ororo turned her attention towards Warren. There was a skeptical look in her eyes as she looked at Warren. "The Professor would like to see us all in his office. By his demeanor, I feel some great tragedy has occurred."

Ororo and the two teens immediately left the infirmary, and headed towards the Professor's office. They entered the office to find Charles Xavier and Logan waiting for them. Logan stood next to the window, waiting for the Professor to begin. Jean and Storm sat in the chairs in front of the Professor's desk, and Warren leaned against the bookshelf in the back of the audience.

"My friends," began Professor Xavier, "I'm afraid that I have some extremely tragic news. I have been informed that Evan, Kitty and Kurt are being held hostage. The kidnappers assure me that if their demands are not met, then they severe harm will befall the students."

"What do they want, Professor?" asked Jean.

"They want… Cerebro," he answered.

"You can't be considering handing over Cerebro, Charles," said Logan. "With that technology in the wrong hands, we'll have our work cut out for us. No mutant would be safe."

"I also must consider the welfare of my students, Logan. I cannot allow harm to befall them if I can prevent it," responded the Professor.

"So, what are we going to do, Professor?" asked Jean.

"We will do nothing, Jean," replied the Professor. "You and Warren will stay here. When Scott and Rogue return, tell them to wait here also. Logan, Ororo get changed. We will handle this alone. I refuse to place anymore of my students in harm's way."

Logan and Ororo disappeared from the Professor's office. After the Professor collected several blank CD's, he informed Jean that he was going to download Cerebro's program on the discs. With his students' lives on the line, he wasn't willing to take too many challenges.

Evan shook his head to rid himself of the lingering sensation of dizziness. Once he had done so, Evan began to survey the room. The sights around him were totally shocking. Evan looked through the bars of his cage to see that he was hanging over a row of spikes. As his eyes chased the spiked floor, he noticed a thick column emerging from the floor. His eyes traced the column upwards. He found that his own cage was connected to the column as well as two other cages. Inside the cages were his friends, Kitty and Kurt.

"Ah you're finally awake," said a voice from the shadows. "I've already told your friends not to escape." The owner of the voice moved into the light. It was Mystique. "You see, the cages are balanced by your own body weights. If either of you manages to get out of the cage, the other two will plummet straight down into the spikes."

Evan looked at his friends from his own cage. Kurt had his hands on the bars, and was staring at Kitty. Kitty sat in the center of her own cage holding her legs against her chest. Evan even noticed the tears that started to roll from her eyes. Evan turned his attention back to Mystique. One of her students had joined them. He was whispering something into her ear. Then, a large smile began to spread across Mystique's face.

"Thank you, Lance," said Mystique. "Tell the others to get ready for their arrival." Mystique glanced back up at the cages. "Well, children it seems that Professor Xavier has decided to meet my demands. You will all be out of your cages soon." Mystique turned and began to leave the room. Then, she paused as if she had forgotten something and said, "I suggest you pray that it be in one piece."

Scott and Rogue walked through the front door, only to be met by Jean running down the steps. She ran towards Scott, obviously distraught over something. Scott opened his arms and the two embraced in a hug as if they would never let go. "Jean, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I promise, I…" said Scott. He paused as Jean began to sob. "Jean, what's wrong?"

Jean lifted her head slightly; "It's terrible Scott. Kitty, Kurt and Evan have all been captured. The kidnappers wanted Cerebro for ransom."

"What?! Where's the Professor and the others?" asked Scott.

"They already left," said Jean. "They told us to stay here and wait."

"Us?" said Scott.

"Warren's still here too. By the way, you were right about him. I'm sorry too," said Jean.

"Come on, if we're going to be a team, we had better make peace. Then, we can decide how we can help the Professor and the others," said Scott as he led Jean and Rogue into the living room.

They found Warren in the room talking on the phone. "Yes, the Professor is coming…. He's only bringing the adults…. Yeah, he's bringing the program too," whispered Warren into the telephone.

"It was you!" exclaimed Jean. "You set up our friends! You're working for Mystique!"

"Jean you don't understand," said Warren.

"There's nothing to understand," countered Jean. "Nothing, except the fact that you lied to us, all of us."

"Listen, Warren, you can't trust Mystique," said Rogue. "If anyone should know it's me. She was only using you."

"Using me? No one can use me! I Warren Worthington, III!"

"If that's true, Warren, then where are they now? Are they here to help you?" asked Jean. "No, they're not. Mystique was going to leave you to take the blame all on your own."

Warren swallowed as he looked at the faces of the X-Men standing opposite him. He noticed that there were no expressions of anger on their faces, but a different emotion. It looked as though they pitied him.

"It's not too late, Warren," said Scott. "You can still change. All you have to do is let us help you. What do you say?" Scott held out his hand, waiting for Warren to grasp it. Slowly, Warren raised his hand and grasped Scott's.

"I'm sorry," Warren apologized.

"Listen, you can apologize later. Right now, we've got some friends to save," said Scott. "Everyone change. Rogue, prep the X-van."

"Scott, what about the Professor's orders?" asked Rogue. "He told us to wait here."

"He doesn't know he's walking into a trap. Besides, Mystique doesn't think we're coming. It'll give us the element of surprise," explained Scott.

"Scott Summers, I just love it when you're naughty," said Jean as she gave him a small peck on the cheek. Then, Jean followed Rogue out of the living room to change clothes.

"You're a lucky guy, Summers. Hold on to her and treat her right. Otherwise an angel may come along a sweep her off her feet," teased Warren.

"Yeah, right," said Scott. "Now, I know your head's in the clouds. Let's go." The two teens then disappeared through the door to change into their combat suits as well.

"Oh my God," said the Professor as he gazed upwards at the cages hanging above the spikes. Three of his students were trapped inside the cages scared to death. "Hang on, you three. We'll get you down." The Professor turned towards Storm. "Ororo, do you think you can get them down safely?"

"I wouldn't try it, Charles," said a voice. A screen flickered to life revealing Magneto. "If either of your accomplices makes the slightest move towards those cages I will allow your students to fall to their death. The only way they will leave alive is for you to hand over the discs."

"Erik, please let's discuss this rationally," pleaded the Professor.

"The time for discussion is over, Charles. Place the discs on the platform and I will release your students," said Magneto.

"Very well," said the Professor. The Professor nodded and Wolverine stepped forward and pulled the discs out of his belt. He placed the discs on the platform and took a step backwards. The platform began to rise into the air, towards a source of light. That obviously had to be some sort of control booth. "Thank you, Charles. Now, I hope that you can catch!"

There was a loud click, and suddenly the three cages began to fall. Screams began to fill the entire room, as the three students began to fall to their deaths. All of a sudden the cages stopped moving. All three became stopped in mid-air.

"What's going on?" said Magneto. The screen flickered off, as the discs reached the control booth. Magneto's shape slowly began to change into the figure of a woman, Mystique. She grabbed the discs and started to make her escape. She ran towards a ladder that led to the roof.

When she opened the hatch, she saw that she wasn't on the roof alone. The rest of Xavier's X-Men were there as well including Warren. It seemed like Jean Grey and Rogue were using telekinesis to hold the cages in place. Cyclops fired an optic blast that shattered a window. Warren grabbed Cyclops and the two slowly descended into the building.

"Kurt! Teleport out of the cage and grab the others!" shouted Cyclops as his feet finally touched the floor. 

Kurt teleported out of his cage and into Kitty's. He grabbed her hand, and the to teleported out of the cage and next to Cyclops. The Professor and the others moved over towards them. "Hang on Evan! I'm coming!" yelled Kurt.

"I appreciate it, Elf," said Evan. Kurt teleported into Evan's cage, and was back out quickly. "Thanks man, I owe you one."

"Don't vorry about it man," said Kurt, "I vill alvays be here to save your butt."

The joyous reunion was interrupted by screams from above. Jean and Rogue had been pushed through the window by Mystique. Both of the girls screamed at the top of their lungs as the fell so quickly to the ground.

"Jean!" yelled Cyclops.

Storm used her powers to thrust a gust of wind into the air where she was able to support Rogue. The gust wasn't wide enough to capture Jean also. Suddenly, a blur streaked by and grab Jean. The Angel had leaped into the air and caught Jean. He soared around the room once, and dropped Jean into the arms of Cyclops. "I'll be back. I'm going to see if I can get those discs back."

"Warren wait!" shouted Jean.

The Angel exploded out of the roof and soared high above the building. As he surveyed the roof, he saw Mystique sprint across the top. "Stop!" Mystique looked into air behind her to find Warren in close pursuit. Mystique immediately began to change her shape into the form of a hawk. As she leaped off the building and began to fly, the discs were tucked safely within her claws.

"Give me that!" shouted Warren as he tried to wrestle the discs free. One of Mystique's wings hit Warren in the head, which threw him off balance. As he started to fall, the discs were ripped free and began to fall as well. The large hawk gave a loud screech as the discs fell and shattered onto the ground. Warren managed to recover and started to soar back towards the other X-Men. The hawk turned and soared in the other direction after realizing she had suffered defeat.

"Well done, Warren," said the Professor. "I can see that you will make a fine addition to the team."

"I'm not so sure Professor," said Warren. "This was all my fault. I'm the one that told Mystique that you guys were going to the movies. That's how she knew you where you guys were and managed to capture you. I kept feeding her information, and almost got you guys killed. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm cut out to be an X-Man."

"Nonsense, child," said Storm as she approached Warren. "You have made your mistakes in the past. What truly matters is that you came through in the end."

"Yeah," chimed Kitty. "Besides, you're way too cute to be a villain."

"I suppose the same goes for me too, right Kitty?" said Kurt as he stroked his hair back. "I mean it's not every day that you come across someone vith my genuine good looks." Kitty sighed and turned away. She started to walk towards the X-van along with everyone else. "Vat did I say? Is it my breath?" Kurt cupped his hand and placed it over his mouth to test his breath. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Elf. It's my turn to rescue you," said Evan. "I'll help you get your foot out of your mouth." Evan and Kurt joined the rest of the team as they loaded up into X-van and drove home behind the Professor's car.

"Hey, Warren where are you going?" said Jean as she and Scott descended the stairs. The other students, along with Ororo, Logan and the Professor were already at the bottom of the stairs saying good-bye.

"I'm off to Europe with my folks," he answered.

"But you just got here. You can't leave now," said Jean.

"Trust me, it's for the best. I don't think I'm ready to do the hero thing just yet," said Warren. He turned to Scott and extended his hand, "Besides, you're in good hands."

Warren smiled and picked up his suitcase and walked out the front door. Everyone came to the front of the house and waved as Warren got into the limousine. They all stood there as the car disappeared from view. 

"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" asked Scott.

"Someday, when he's ready he'll be back," said the Professor. "Especially, now that he knows that he has friends and a second home with the X-Men."

THE END


End file.
